A/RES/50/206
Page 4
C
The General Assembly,
Taking note of the statement made by the representative of the
Secretary-General to the Fifth Committee on 10 October 1995 on, inter alia,
the costs of documentation, 6/
Recognizing the right of Member States, through intergovernmental
bodies, to request reports,
Recognizing that Member States can contribute directly to the reduction
of documentation, which contributes to savings, through restraint in making
such requests,
Recognizing also that the reduction in the demand for, and volume of,
documentation could improve the quality and timeliness of reports,
Noting that Economic and Social Council decision 1995/222 of 5 May 1995,
entitled "Documentation", requires Secretariat accountability regarding
seriously tardy reports,
Noting also that some actions taken by the Committee on Conferences and
the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space can result in lower
documentation costs, while noting further that the political and financial
impact of such actions has to be assessed by the General Assembly,
Recognizing the right of Member States to request circulation of
communications as official documents,
1.
Notes with concern that the existing limits of 32 pages and 24
pages for documents prepared for intergovernmental meetings, confirmed by its
resolution 36/117 A of 10 December 1981 and endorsed by its resolution 38/32 E
of 25 November 1983, respectively, are not routinely enforced;
2.
Requests the Secretary-General to enforce, where appropriate, the
existing page limits referred to in paragraph 1 above in respect of all
documents originating in the Secretariat, to review these limits, where
appropriate, with a view to achieving an overall reduction of documentation
without affecting its quality and to report thereon to the General Assembly at
its fifty-first session through the Committee on Conferences;
3.
Also requests the Secretary-General to include only where
necessary brief descriptions of the history of the subjects contained in the
reports together with a reference to relevant documents, bearing in mind the
need to restrict the number of pages to the limits referred to in paragraph 1
above;
4.
Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that
documentation is available in accordance with the six-week rule for the
distribution of documents, simultaneously in each of the six official
languages of the United Nations;
5.
Decides that, should a report be issued late, the reasons for the
delay should be indicated when the report is introduced;
6.
Requests members of all bodies to exercise restraint in making
proposals containing requests for new reports;
6/
See A/C.5/50/SR.4.
/...